1. Field of the Invention
This invention, generally, relates to vehicle simulation and, more particularly, to a new and improved geodesic dome structure and a method of manufacturing same, such dome structure especially being useful in flight simulation.
2. Background Art
The need for more extensive and specialized training has increased with the increase in today's high performance aircraft that have become more and more complex. To obtain such training, a student pilot must either be provided with actual training and experience in the aircraft which he is to fly, or he must be provided with training in a simulator of such aircraft.
However, there are certain emergency procedures and maneuvers that simply can not be accomplished by training in the actual aircraft because of the dangers of the actual real life environment. This is especially true for single pilot aircraft. Therefore, for such maneuvers or emergency procedures, training in a simulator of the aircraft is particularly advantageous.
Furthermore, with the increase in expense of flight fuel in recent years, the time required in training within such an actual aircraft makes this form of training cost excessive, particularly when taken in consideration with the wear and tear on the actual aircraft. Consequently, aircraft simulators are being called upon to take on more and more of the aircraft training missions. For such training to be effective, the aircraft simulator must reproduce faithfully the environment that the trainee would face in an actual flight.
For those aircraft types in which a pilot, co-pilot, navigator, and the like view the outside real world through relatively small windows, the visual part of the simulator is customarily accomplished through the use of a suitable cathode ray tube (CRT) positioned at each window. However, this manner of reproducing the scenes to be simulated by the use of CRT's becomes impractical when a trainee pilot is in the type of aircraft using a larger window, such as a bubble-type or clear dome. This type of scene depicts nearly 360.degree. of view.
Much attention has been given to an appropriate structure for creating a screen that is virtually a complete dome to provide a viewing surface on the inside.